Harnessing the power of plants and body weight: Learn more May 15 at The Core

As a busy student finishing her first year of her master’s degree in physiological sciences, and juggling her wellness business on the side, Sabine Harrington knows all about grabbing quick workouts and whipping up quick, nutritious meals on the go.

Harrington will share information on both at Tucson Medical Center’s The Core at La Encantada on Friday, May 15.

Wear comfortable clothing to her 5:15 p.m. session, and you’ll see there’s no need to turn to gym equipment or set aside a lot of space to get in a great workout. Harrington will show you how to leverage the power of your own body weight to build strength and stamina.

“By combining power yoga fusion with other kinds of body weight exercises, we can get great workouts in any space, whether it’s in your office at your desk, in a lab (done that!), in a studio apartment or while traveling. There really is no reason you have to stay stationary.”

If fitness doesn’t have to take a lot of space, it also doesn’t have to take a lot of time, she said.

“While long, aerobic activities have their value – and I love running and biking – a lot of people don’t have time to break away for that more than once or twice a week because of school and work constraints,” she explained. Even studying for exams, Sabine fights to squeeze in 20 minutes of strength yoga on days that she cannot run, ride or climb. “I know my body will respond so positively from even a workout that short – it’s a lot of return for a little time. And that’s because the body wants the acute stress to trigger its metabolic and antioxidant pathways. Plus it just feels good!”

Fitness is only one part of a healthy lifestyle, or in Sabine’s words “one half of the metabolic equation.” Nutrition has an irreplaceable role, too. And although Harrington’s self-published cookbook may be called “Plant-Based and Powerful,” that doesn’t mean she’s eats exclusively vegan. She eats nutrient dense, plant-based food most of the time, mostly in small meals throughout the day, but she also listens to her body. If that means she craves a steak a few times a year, she honors that.

“I have never claimed to be a vegan or vegetarian, but the end result of eating simply is often just that. Plants are a lot less work for your body to process, and they offer an amazing diversity of bioactive compounds that are very beneficial to human health,” she said. But it makes sense that there can be a minimal role for animal protein in the diet, especially since we would not have survived as a species if we had been that picky!”

She doesn’t adhere to a particular diet, but instead follows common sense principles. “I avoid labeling any naturally occurring compound as ‘evil’ or as ‘holy.’ I don’t even think saturated fat is ‘evil’; after all it is an integral component of our cell membranes. What’s important is the proportions. Certain nutrients are certainly more appropriate for you in larger doses, and others only in trace amounts or not necessary at all.”

The advantage to some of her food choices is that they’re affordable on a budget, she said. “One of the healthiest foods you can eat is beans – and it happens to be one of the least expensive as well. It really doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to eat healthfully.”

The presentation is part of a month-long series of expert conversations on women’s health, including:

Oh Baby! What you need to know to keep your new family healthy and well